A Friend
by ZeroDegreeCelcius
Summary: All Gilbert Beilschmidt want is a friend that can be with him through thick and thin, that can be his shoulder to lean on because he's been a shoulder to lean on since he was seven. When he found one, will it last forever or turn into something more? Or worse, be broken in the end? This is a multi chapter fic and also my first fic. Human AU. Pairings:PruAus, GerIta (probably). RnR!
1. Prolog

**A/n: Hey everybody! I've decided to upload my first fic, YAY! Since this is my first fanfic, critiques and reviews are welcomed with love. And also, english is not my first language so please forgive me if this fic have grammatical errors or typos. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, I only own the plot. If I DO own Hetalia, Prussia will confess his love to Austria.**

**Prussia: *choking on beer***

* * *

A 12-years-old Gilbert Beilschmidt sat perched on a tree, looking at the setting sun, the blue sky now tinted pink. He just loved moments like this when he can escape reality just for a little while and dream of a better life. But a better life is not his biggest dream, having a friend is. Well, of course his brother, Ludwig, is also considered his friend, but there's 5 years of age difference and he needed a friend with the same age.

Why he needed a friend so much, you ask? Well, Gilbert and Ludwig was left by their parents when Gilbert was 7 and Ludwig was 2 because their parents are really poor and can't afford to feed two more. Now they live in a small log cabin located deep inside the forest, near a small waterfall. The log cabin was made by their parents when Gilbert is still 3. The small log cabin is cozy and just right for two persons to live in, it has a fireplace, a kitchen, and a single bed all in one room.

Gilbert climbed down the tall tree awesomely in his own unique way causing the tree to shake and go back to the little house. Speaking his thoughts, he said, "It's time for dinner!". He entered the log cabin and was immidiately greeted by his baby brother who's stomach is already growling from hunger.

"Bruder, when are you gonna prepare dinner?" Gilbert saw the hunger in his little brother's eyes and felt guilty for not coming home and make dinner earlier.

"I'm just gonna. You can accompany your awesome bruder to check on the traps we set earlier today if you wanna" Gilbert answered with a grin. Ludwig's eyes shine in excitement, it's not often that he can help his brother check on the traps. Gilbert always insisted on Ludwig staying home whilst he check on the traps and Ludwig is getting bored waiting everyday. Ludwig rapidly shake his head for a 'yes'.

Seeing his little brother's answer, he quickly grabbed his bow and arrow, a dirty bag, a long strong rope and also his pocket knife, but this time he handed the pocket knife to Ludwig who take it with doubtful eyes. "It's gonna be alright, I trusted you. You're old enough to have this, it belongs to you now" Gilbert then smiled at his brother who is now beaming with joy and ruffled his already-messy blonde hair. The pocket knife is a gift to Gilbert from the siblings' father for Gilbert's first successful hunt, that's why it's so precious. "We're all set. Let's go!"

* * *

Inside the thick greenery, the siblings manage to locate the trap and immediately rush to check on it. They're lucky today, super lucky. The animal trapped is a deer, a big one at that. "Whoa! That is awesomely big, that much meat can provide a meal for two for a whole week!" Gilbert exclaimed, drool already dripping from the side of his mouth.

You may think that a 12-year-old can't possibly be daring enough to hunt and kill an animal for dinner, but you're wrong. Gilbert have to. No, need to be able to expertly hunt an animal or set traps for food so that the two of them can't starve. Then there's the cutting and skinning part. Just imagine, skinning an animal.. you might not be able to stand it and probably faint right there and there. But not Gilbert, he learned to do so from the age of seven. That's why Gilbert agreed to take Ludwig, he's seven already.

The trap that Gilbert made is a simple trap that you can make by only digging a really wide and deep hole and then covering it with weak woods that can break easily by criss-crossing them and then finally covering them with leaves. The deer is now laying down at the base of the deep hole and not being able to stand up, maybe because it break its leg from the fall into the trap. Gilbert grab the bow and an arrow and then aim at the deer's chest.

He shoots with precission. The sound of the tip of the arrow going through the flesh is almost inaudible. The deer died in no less than a minute with an arrow striking his heart dead-on. Ludwig stared in awe at his older brother, then at the deer and then back at his older brother.

Gilbert let go of the breath he didn't know he was holding and then smiled to his blonde little brother. "Lud, do me a favor and tie the rope to a tree. When you're done, I'll tell you what to do next." The little blonde german immediately grab the rope and tie it to firm-looking tree. He then shouted "it's done" to his older brother.

"Now that its tied, you can climb down the trap and bring out the deer, and I guarantee you don't need any effort to do that" After that sentence, little Ludwig shot his brother a questioning look that says '_and how am I suppose to bring that heavy deer out of that deep trap without any effort?'_ Gilbert then reply with an expression that says '_let the awesome me tell you how'._

After an explanation, Ludwig, ready to climb down to the trap hole confirm the steps one more time, "So, I climb down and tie the rope to the deer and then I tug the rope several times for the signal that you can pull the deer out, _without me,_ and when you finish untying the rope from the deer you throw me the rope so that I can come out. Is that right?" Gilbert answered with a nod.

* * *

Roderich Edelstein glanced out of the window of his new home in Germany. At his right is a thick forest with a single tree higher than the rest. At his left is the town, he can see people starting to light lamps for the sky is slowly getting darker. Then he noticed that the sky is a beautiful dim blue tinted with pink. Sadly, he can't gaze at it longer because dinner is ready and his father is calling him to go down to the dining room.

He then noticed that the tallest tree is somewhat shaking, capturing his attention. He saw a figure climbing down the tree in a peculiar way causing it to shake. He decided it was just a monkey or some sort. But when he pay more attention to it, he can see that the figure is deffinitely a human being. He is utterly shocked but he just shrug it off and decided that he'll check it out tomorrow. He'll find a way to sneak out of his lessons and go to the forest.

* * *

The german brothers have quite a feast that night. They have a splendid dinner with the deer meat (although it's way too late to call it dinner). After being full and satisfied, they both say good night to each other and fell into a deep sleep.. well, at least Ludwig did. Gilbert is wide awake in his bed and decided to go to his special place deep inside the forest.

Gilbert isn't scared of the forest at night because at nighttime the forest decided to show it's real beauty. He is guided by the flying orbs of light into the place he liked best, a clearing in the forest that light can easily go through, providing the flowers light so that they can grow into beautiful colorful ones. This is his special place that he promised to himself he can only share with a really special person in his life.

Little does Gilbert knew he was going to share that place soon..


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: sorry for the really really late update and this really really short chapter. I can only write this short because my school is always giving a lot of projects, reviews, and also homeworks. Maybe I can write the next chapter as long as the prolog..**

**As usual, critiques and comments are welcomed with love. Enjoy!**

* * *

Roderich is awakened by the chirping of many birds and also by the brightness of the morning sun shining through his bedroom window. Last night he didn't get much sleep because of him constantly thinking and planning of a way to skip his lessons today and go to the forest, searching for the cause of the shaking tree.

He get out of his king-sized bed and immediately execute his plan. He needed to talk to his father to tell him that he wanted to explore the surrounding area that is going to be his new home. Alone. Without any of the servants or butlers accompanying him.

Roderich is really thankful that his father is a strict yet loving person. Even though Mr. Edlestein's work is not easy or little, he still provide time for his dear son, Roderich. Roderich loves his father dearly and is closest to him, so maybe, just maybe, the plan will work.

Roderich snap out of his trance of thoughts when he realize that he is now in the middle of a hallway which he doesn't know. This is why he never liked mansions, they're too big for him and also he get lost in them very often, like he preferred living in a small cozy house, he have to live in a monstrous-sized mansion to maintain his image.

The Edelsteins are rich people and stayed that way from generation to generation. They valued education, appearance, and of course, manners.

But Roderich couldn't care less about manners when he's in this kind of situation. There's only one way to get back in the right hallway…

"MOOOOOOOOOMMMM!"

The sounds of heels rapidly knocking against the floor alert him of what is to come.

"Roderich! I told you many times that no yelling is allowed! You know that your yells echo throughout the whole mansion, right?"

"Sorry mom, I got lost.. and I really hate being lost."

Mrs. Edelstein let out a sigh, "I'll forgive you for yelling this time, but next time, you're grounded for a week." Roderich can only manage a "yes mom" before Mrs. Edelstein grabs her son's hand and drag him to the dining room.

* * *

Mr. Edelstein is reading today's newspaper when Roderich entered the dining room with his mom. Roderich quickly rushed to his father's side and greet him with a "good morning" and immediately ask him for permission to explore his new surroundings. Crossing his fingers, he waited impatiently for an answer.

"Alright," Mr. Edelstein then turn to his wife. "That is actually a splendid idea so that Roderich here can adapt to new surroundings. Do you agree?"

Mrs. Edelstein take a while to finally come up with an answer. "Okay... you can do that **without **supervision. I realise that you're big enough to go yourself, but be back before 6.30 P.M. to have your dinner, okay?"

Roderich answer with a nod and is about to run to the big front doors of the mansion when he is stopped by none other than his mom. "No,no,no mister! Eat first before you go exploring." He rotate his body, his excitement drained, and then drag his feet lazily to the dining table to eat breakfast.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: I finally have a time to write the next chapter.. WHOPEE! Before I rejoice over my free time, I wanted to say thanks for the reviews and also for YinPhoenix326 who favorited my story and BekaTheHippy who put my story to his/her Story Alert. It really boosted my confidence! Thank you guys!**

**So, here's chapter 2. Enjoy~**

Roderich literally gobble up his breakfast and neither Mrs. or Mr. Edelstein can stop him from doing so. After finishing his breakfast, he sprinted to the door and is stopped – again – by Mrs. Edelstein. "You forgot your money," she let out a sigh, "you can be excited but you can't be careless, you know.." Roderich scoffed and – being the well-mannered person he is – politely take the money from his mother's hand and muttered a "thank you".

He tuck the money into his pocket and run through the door and into the open and stop for a moment to enjoy the light breeze seeping through his hair. He really enjoyed the outdoors but doesn't go out often because of his home-schooling or lessons. His father chose and selected the teachers for Roderich to make sure he is thought well.

Roderich spotted the thick greenery not far away and headed there directly. Passing the town on his way, Roderich thought he can stop by a pastry shop for a while to buy his lunch for later. If he decide to eat in the forest, it would be a good thing to buy a meal first. Since it's a French pastry shop, he decided to buy 3 croissants for his lunch and then continue to walk to the forest.

* * *

Gilbert wake up really early and hurriedly get back to the log cabin fearing that his little brother might be awake and worrying about his whereabouts. Besides, he doesn't want Ludwig to know about his little paradise. Gilbert make his way through the woods easily, the twist and turns already memorized.

He's only a few meters away from the little cabin when he hear a chirp. It's. . . sad. Gilbert searched for the source of the chirp and spotted a little yellow mass in the shape of a circle. He approached it carefully as to not startle it and get shocked beyond his life when he realize it's a fluffy, small, circle-shaped. . . bird. . . perched on a tree.

He tilted his head upwards, "You're such a unique bird! I've never seen a bird as fluffy and as round as you before!" The small yellow bird stare at Gilbert with its beady eyes and fly down to rest at the top of Gilbert's head. "You like my awesome hair, don't you?" he smirked, "since you're such a fan of the awesome me and you're my first bird friend, I shall name you Gilbird." The yellow bird give an approving chirp.

He feel a sudden warmness wash over him and an amount of light seeping through the cracks between trees. He dashed to the direction of the tall tree – his favorite tree – and expertly climb it up and sit on his favorite branch and bask in the sun's orange glow and warmth. "_I'll never get bored of this, even for a thousand years.. even without a friend."_

* * *

Roderich finally reached his destination. Honestly, he is quite scared of going into an immensely thick forest, but curiosity got the better of him and he finally disappear into the greenery.

Roderich is right about two things: One, this forest is really **really** thick. And second, buying three croissants is a good thing because if Roderich get lost, at least he wouldn't starve in the next three days or so. What Roderich is wrong about is he forgot to carry a knife with him. Because of his forgetfulness, he can't cut the dangling vines and branches that gives him scratches all over his bare skin. If it weren't for his dress-like attire and boots, he would've get splinters.

Because he's too focused on the vines and branches, he doesn't recognize the huge log in his way and . . .

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

* * *

A rustling sound capture his attention and Gilbert is climbing down the tree to investigate when he hear something astonishing . . .

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

Gilbert is shocked beyond his life hearing someone scream and then recognize it as – not Ludwig's – but a stranger's.

He climb down the tree twice as fast, excitement visible in his ruby red eyes. He rush to the source of the scream, jumping, avoiding fallen branches and tree trunks, "_It's another human! I might have a chance of being friends with him or her!" _Gilbird is bouncing on top of Gilbert's head because of his series of movements.

The sound of a moan entered Gilbert's ears. It sounded hurt. Gilbert frantically search for the outline of a person but the lack of sunlight is making it really hard to see. Then, he recognize this part of the forest as the really thick part of it, which means it's near the end of the forest facing the town.

"OW! Urgh.. can't move my leg.."

He turn his body 180o and through the trees he see a brown-haired boy with a stray curl wearing a dress-like attire and light brown boots, his face scrunched up in pain. His left foot is in an abnormal position. Gilbert guessed that the boy sprained his ankle. Then, slowly and carefully, he approach the brown-haired boy..


End file.
